By Courtenay Turner
Often, what you put into your body affects your skin far more than what you put onto your body.
While topical creams and lotions nourish the skin on a surface level, more often, your skin’s health and radiance is actually determined by your gut. In fact, looking after your insides will help you to cultivate a glow that no amount of cosmetics can replicate. Happy gut = happy skin and a happy you!
To discover lasting radiance – at every age – focus your attention on nourishing your gut with some of The Beauty Chef’s favourite foods for good skin...
Living Foods
Fermented foods are the golden child of the wellness world – and for good reason! Fermented foods like kimchi, kefir, natural yoghurt, cultured butter and sauerkraut are all naturally rich in probiotics, or more specifically, live yeasts, bacteria and fungi. These probiotics – commonly referred to as “good bugs” – help to improve digestive function and boost immunity. Opt for wholefood products that have been bio-fermented, as this process transforms all the ingredients into a broad-spectrum probiotic. In contrast, foods or supplements that simply have a dash of probiotic powder added to them are not nearly as beneficial or bioavailable.
Our pick: GLOW Inner Beauty Powder
GLOW Inner Beauty Powder is a bio-fermented, wholefood powder that is alive with naturally occuring enzymes and probiotics. It’s been specifically formulated to boost gut health, and in doing so, promote radiant, glowing skin. Try switching your morning toast for our Get Glowing Smoothie Bowl, made with antioxidant-rich blueberries and acai.
Colourful Foods
Is it really any surprise that iceberg lettuce, pasta and rice crackers don’t have much going for them when it comes to nutrition? Put simply, more colour equals more nutrition and more antioxidants, especially when it comes to the world of fruit and vegetables. So in order to cultivate glowing skin, be sure to choose foods that glow with colour. Think berries, dark leafy greens, broccoli, sweet potato, lemons, papaya and kiwifruit.
Our pick: Pomegranate
Pomegranates don’t just look amazing, they also work wonders on your skin! Pomegranates are packed with natural antioxidants which protect the skin from oxidative stress, a result of harmful UV light, environmental toxins and pollution. They also contain folic acid, vitamins C, E and K, as well as some more obscure goodies – including ellagic acid which helps prevent collagen breakdown and punicic acid which helps to stimulate cell regeneration.
Full-fat Foods
The demonisation of dietary fats in the 80s and 90s saw the majority of us ditching butter for margarine, olive oil for low-fat dressings and full-fat milk for skim. We even limited the quantity of avocado, oily fish and nuts that we consumed, wrongly assuming that more dietary fat meant more body fat. When we removed the fat from our food, we not only lost the taste, we also kissed goodbye to many of the health-giving benefits that come from good fats! Thankfully, science has since shifted its stance and many experts now recommend that we enjoy an abundance of healthy fats. This is good news for our skin! Essential fatty acids (especially those rich in omega-3s!) – found in “fatty” foods like wild salmon, sardines, nuts, grass fed meat, chia seeds, flax seeds and certain unrefined plant oils – are essential for anyone hoping to enjoy plump and hydrated skin. In fact, they’re the building blocks for healthy cells. Even saturated fats, like butter, ghee and coconut oil, contain fat-soluble vitamins and gut-healing lauric acid.
Our pick: Chia seeds
Chia seeds pack a nutritional punch. They’re rich in gut-loving fibre and contain a good dose of omega-3 fats. Enjoy the goodness of chia seeds, in combination with GLOW Inner Beauty Powder, in our PEACH, OAT & ORANGE BLOSSOM SMOOTHIE.
Foods to Avoid…
Certain foods cause inflammation in the gut, which in turn, can trigger problems with the skin. By cutting back or avoiding certain foods, you’ll not only experience fewer tummy troubles, but you might just experience some relief from pesky skin problems. Gut compromising foods may include things like sugar, gluten, alcohol, processed foods, refined carbohydrates, processed vegetable oils and processed meats and dairy. Everyone is different though, so listen to your gut, and to the best of your ability, eat a balance of low HI (human intervention) wholefoods.
Have you got a skin-loving food that you swear by?
